Conventional concrete walls may be created by pouring concrete into a suitable concrete form. As is known in the art, concrete foundation walls are generally poured between two sets of concrete forms disposed in essentially parallel relationship and defining therebetween a channel having a dimension for the desired thickness of the concrete wall. Such opposed, spaced apart walls are generally held in a fixed relationship relative to each other against the immense weight of any poured concrete by tie-wires and turnbuckle assemblies having abutment surfaces against which a locking or latching arm on adjacent form sections abut. Once assembled into the shape of the wall, wet concrete is poured into the channel formed between the concrete forms and allowed to dry. The concrete forms typically comprise multiple form panels, which may for example be formed of wood or any other suitable well known material. The height of the form panel may vary by application.
Multiple form panels may be placed side-by-side in order to construct a wall of a desired length. Because the wet poured concrete takes the shape of the forms in which it is placed, the finished concrete wall corresponds in configuration to the assembled form. Therefore, it is important to align precisely the panels composing the concrete form in order to ensure that the finished wall has the desired appearance and strength.
One problem that arises when employing concrete forms to create a concrete foundation wall involves failing to accurately align the form panels side-by-side and/or top-to-bottom so that the wall is not straight in either direction. Conventionally, in order to align the panels, nails may be driven into the sides of the end panels that form the wall, at the corners of the wall. A string may be hung between the nails in the corners. Because the string forms a straight line, the other panels in the wall may be aligned to the string in order to ensure that the wall is straight.
The solution, however, is not optimal for several reasons. For example, the best location to place a nail in this configuration, in order to most accurately align the panels, is in the precise corner where two panels meet. Because this location is necessarily provided at the space between two panels, there is no place at which a nail can be securely driven into a panel at this location. This means that the nail is either driven into a less-suitable location (e.g., offset from the corner), which makes alignment less accurate, or is left in the unstable location between the panels, which can cause the nail to easily fall out, thereby making alignment more difficult and time-consuming. Moreover, the form panels are typically reusable for a certain number of pours, which helps to reduce the costs of construction. Driving a nail into the form panels reduces their useful lifespan, which increases overall costs.
Another problem that can occur when employing concrete forms involves straightening the panels so that they do not lean inwards or outwards. For this purpose, and for securing the panels together, some panels include one or more panel bars that extend horizontally across the panel. The panel bars may be, for example, metal bars about 2 inches wide that are affixed to the form panel. If multiple panel bars are provided on a single panel, they may be spaced at predetermined locations along the height of the form panel.
The panel bar may include a latch or lever that allows the panels to be clipped together side-by-side, as well as a plurality of shoulder bolts. A turnbuckle can be mounted to the panel bar in the vicinity of the shoulder bolts, with for example, the shoulder bolt positioned to the left of the turnbuckle and the latch on the right of the turnbuckle. The turnbuckle may contact the shoulder bolt in order to hold the turnbuckle in place. Further, the turnbuckle may be attached to one end of a bracing arm. The other end of the bracing arm can be secured to the ground in front of the form. By adjusting the length of the turnbuckle for one or more panel arms on the form panel, the amount of lean or tilt in the panel may be changed. Accordingly, the panel can be aligned so as to be vertical (if a vertical alignment is desired). Problematically, there is no single standard location for the shoulder bolts formed on the panel bar. Thus, turnbuckles that are well-suited to use with one type of panel bar are not well suited for use with another panel bar made by a different manufacturer.